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Released August 27, 2020 | SUGAR LAND
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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Hurricane Laura was forecast to make landfall late Wednesday night near the Texas/Louisiana border, making the most vulnerable the industrial areas of Texas' "Golden Triangle" -- comprising the area surrounding Beaumont, Port Arthur and Orange -- and southwest Louisiana. The forecast path of the hurricane remained largely open to speculation through most of Tuesday, with the Houston area holding its breath over how much Laura would impact the nation's fourth-largest city. Industrial Info's researchers have kept a close eye on how the storm has affected the Texas and Louisiana's industrial facilities.
The Golden Triangle and southwest Louisiana are no strangers to hurricanes; in the past 15 years the areas have been through hurricanes Rita (2005), Ike (2008), Harvey (2017) and Tropical Storm Imelda (2019). The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said Wednesday that 299 Gulf of Mexico offshore platforms had been evacuated, representing a total shut-in capacity of 1.6 million barrels per day (BBL/d) of crude oil and 1.7 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas. As previously reported, onshore facilities in the area have closed their doors, including Cheniere Energy Incorporated's (NYSE:LNG) (Houston) Sabine Pass liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Louisiana and several ethylene units in the region. For more information, see August 26, 2020, article - Ethylene, LNG and Refining Plants on Texas, Louisiana Coast Brace for Hurricane Laura.
As Laura's path became more concrete, several additional facilities began prepping to shut down or reduce operations on Tuesday and Wednesday. Among the largest such plants was Exxon Mobil Corporation's (NYSE:XOM) 350,000-BBL/d refinery and chemical plant in Beaumont, in Jefferson County. An ExxonMobil spokesperson told the Beaumont Enterprise, "We have communicated the Jefferson County mandatory evacuation order to all employees and are staffing onsite with essential personnel only." For more information, see Industrial Info's plant profiles of the refinery and chemical facilities.
Phillips 66 also was stopping operations at a couple of plants in the affected area, including its 249,000-BBL/d refinery in Westlake, Louisiana. For more information, see Industrial Info's plant profile.
Total SA (NYSE:TOT) was shutting down its 190,000-BBL/d refinery in Port Arthur. Total had begun operating the facility at minimum rates earlier in the week. For more information, see Industrial Info's plant profile.
Power facilities also were shut. Among the largest of these facilities was Cleco Cajun LLC's (Pineville, Louisiana) natural gas-fired Cottonwood Energy Center in Deweyville, Texas, about 30 miles northeast of Beaumont. The facility has a design capacity of 1,232 megawatts (MW). The plant has four units and was in the midst of a maintenance program in which each unit would undergo 10 days of planned maintenance work. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report and plant profile.
Several smaller cogeneration units also were taken offline, such as Nelson Industrial Steam Company's (Westlake) 226-MW petroleum coke-fired facility in Westlake. The facility is likely to be up and running as soon as possible, as it does not have scheduled maintenance planned until early next year. For more information, see Industrial Info's plant profile.
Companies that have taken more precautions than previously announced include Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) (San Diego, California), which shut down its 15 million-ton-per-year Cameron LNG facility in Hackberry, Louisiana. The company previously said that it would operate the facility at reduced rates through the storm, but opted to shut down the three trains on Wednesday. For more information, see Industrial Info's plant profile.
Although a storm surge was expected on Wednesday, flooding from Hurricane Laura was not expected to be nearly as devastating as what was experienced during the region's two previous major storms, Harvey and Imelda, meaning that plants could be offline for shorter periods of time than what occurred during those storms.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.
The Golden Triangle and southwest Louisiana are no strangers to hurricanes; in the past 15 years the areas have been through hurricanes Rita (2005), Ike (2008), Harvey (2017) and Tropical Storm Imelda (2019). The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said Wednesday that 299 Gulf of Mexico offshore platforms had been evacuated, representing a total shut-in capacity of 1.6 million barrels per day (BBL/d) of crude oil and 1.7 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas. As previously reported, onshore facilities in the area have closed their doors, including Cheniere Energy Incorporated's (NYSE:LNG) (Houston) Sabine Pass liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Louisiana and several ethylene units in the region. For more information, see August 26, 2020, article - Ethylene, LNG and Refining Plants on Texas, Louisiana Coast Brace for Hurricane Laura.
As Laura's path became more concrete, several additional facilities began prepping to shut down or reduce operations on Tuesday and Wednesday. Among the largest such plants was Exxon Mobil Corporation's (NYSE:XOM) 350,000-BBL/d refinery and chemical plant in Beaumont, in Jefferson County. An ExxonMobil spokesperson told the Beaumont Enterprise, "We have communicated the Jefferson County mandatory evacuation order to all employees and are staffing onsite with essential personnel only." For more information, see Industrial Info's plant profiles of the refinery and chemical facilities.
Phillips 66 also was stopping operations at a couple of plants in the affected area, including its 249,000-BBL/d refinery in Westlake, Louisiana. For more information, see Industrial Info's plant profile.
Total SA (NYSE:TOT) was shutting down its 190,000-BBL/d refinery in Port Arthur. Total had begun operating the facility at minimum rates earlier in the week. For more information, see Industrial Info's plant profile.
Power facilities also were shut. Among the largest of these facilities was Cleco Cajun LLC's (Pineville, Louisiana) natural gas-fired Cottonwood Energy Center in Deweyville, Texas, about 30 miles northeast of Beaumont. The facility has a design capacity of 1,232 megawatts (MW). The plant has four units and was in the midst of a maintenance program in which each unit would undergo 10 days of planned maintenance work. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report and plant profile.
Several smaller cogeneration units also were taken offline, such as Nelson Industrial Steam Company's (Westlake) 226-MW petroleum coke-fired facility in Westlake. The facility is likely to be up and running as soon as possible, as it does not have scheduled maintenance planned until early next year. For more information, see Industrial Info's plant profile.
Companies that have taken more precautions than previously announced include Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) (San Diego, California), which shut down its 15 million-ton-per-year Cameron LNG facility in Hackberry, Louisiana. The company previously said that it would operate the facility at reduced rates through the storm, but opted to shut down the three trains on Wednesday. For more information, see Industrial Info's plant profile.
Although a storm surge was expected on Wednesday, flooding from Hurricane Laura was not expected to be nearly as devastating as what was experienced during the region's two previous major storms, Harvey and Imelda, meaning that plants could be offline for shorter periods of time than what occurred during those storms.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.
